Special mascot adopts local school

Mountain Community School student Peyton Caudle, 8, reads to his third-grade teacher, Kristie Pace, as the school's dog, JoJo, rests on their laps Tuesday.

Patrick Sullivan/Times-News

By NANCY TANKERTimes-News Staff Writer

Published: Wednesday, September 4, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, September 3, 2013 at 8:41 p.m.

Two years ago, JoJo, a dachshund/beagle mix, was facing a grim future in a high-kill North Carolina animal shelter. Shelter staff had scheduled his date for euthanasia, but took the small brown dog to one last adoption event at an Asheville pet store, hoping for the best.

That's when JoJo's animal angel appeared in the form of Mountain Community School Principal Denise Pesce. Having contemplated the idea of having a school dog for some time, Pesce was at the pet store to buy food for the Hendersonville school's rabbits when she noticed the adoption event taking place.

“I explained to the (adoption) director what we were thinking in terms of a school dog and asked her to let me know if she thought it was a bad idea,” Pesce recalled. “She thought it was a great idea and turned around and pointed to JoJo and said, 'And here's your dog!'”

With small brown eyes that begged for the love of a human, JoJo stole Pesce's heart.

“We got him the day he was going to be put down,” she added.

Back at Mountain Community, first- and second-grade teacher assistant Deanna Hill volunteered to be JoJo's permanent owner, taking him home at night and on weekends. Third-grade teacher Kristie Pace volunteered to be JoJo's home room teacher.

The kids immediately took to JoJo, taking him out for walks, recess, lunch and snack.

“He really goes everywhere with us, even on field trips if they're outside,” Pace said. “We went to a strawberry farm in Etowah recently and he went with us and he was so good. He's always so good.”

In a few weeks, JoJo will travel with his fellow third-graders to the Bullington Center. If the class goes on an indoor field trip, JoJo stays with the fourth-grade class, since the kids know him from the previous year. He has his picture taken for the yearbook “just like the other kids,” Pace said, and he's also in the class picture.

“The other day we were pulling weeds in the garden and there was JoJo, pulling weeds with us,” she said. “His face was all dirty. He likes to help.”

JoJo helps in many ways, Pace said.

“It's amazing. Certain kids really take to him,” she said. “If it gets really loud in the classroom, he will get excited and (student) Lauren Burns, who is such a calm and gentle spirit, would sit next to JoJo and calm him down. He just loves her.”

“The kids give him water and food and even a bath out on the grass with the hose,” she added. “He didn't like it, but he endured it. It's a good lesson for the kids. A lot of these kids can't or don't have a pet at home and here they can learn how to take care of a pet in a safe way.”

Do the kids love caring for JoJo? “I like that he's here because I always like dogs,” said third -rader Julianna Samotis. “They keep me company. I feel a lot more like me when I'm around a dog. But he barks a lot. It's usually because he's hungry or we are getting loud in the classroom.”

Fourth-grader Isabel Blackford recalled with a laugh one day last year when JoJo stole a teacher's hash brown from her breakfast bag. Pace smiled as she remembered the day. “JoJo was running around with the empty wrapper and we were all laughing.”

Laughter seems to be a constant refrain in the life of JoJo these days, as he steps from the classroom to join the kids at snack break, wagging his tail and pulling at his leash.

Pace's third-grade student Kira Dillin put it this way: “He teaches me how to be funny because he does funny stuff. He makes me feel happy. I like him because he's nice to have around. On picture day he was grumbling, so our teacher had to give him treats.”

Pace said she gets the feeling JoJo wasn't given treats before he was adopted.

“We had to go through a lot of treats to find one he liked. It was like he had to learn that it was a treat and that it was OK to eat it,” she said.

Fourth-grader Marie Danos mentioned how JoJo likes to lick yogurt containers. “He will eat anything he can find on the ground, like pencils and paper.” Not a bad way to teach kids the value of picking up their stuff.

Third-grader Abbie Sherman said she likes “being in the classroom with him because he reminds me of my dog. I would like Miss Pace to let me walk him!”

Mountain Community is “a menagerie” of animals, Pace said, ticking off three rabbits, a turtle, a lizard, snakes, hissing cockroaches and fish.

“I like it that JoJo lets us pet him and I like his howl,” said third-grader Jacob Smith. “When he barks sometimes he howls afterwards.”

Fellow third-grader Faith Baker added that JoJo “is cute and he doesn't bite. Other dogs just sit around, but not JoJo. He runs around and sometimes we read to him.”

JoJo is in third grade but can he read?

“Noooo!” Baker said, astonished at the question. “He's just a pup! He's a rescue dog, you know. He makes me feel like we need to take good care of him.”

“We saved him but he saves us every day,” Pace added. “He makes us happy.”

<p>Two years ago, JoJo, a dachshund/beagle mix, was facing a grim future in a high-kill North Carolina animal shelter. Shelter staff had scheduled his date for euthanasia, but took the small brown dog to one last adoption event at an Asheville pet store, hoping for the best.</p><p>That's when JoJo's animal angel appeared in the form of Mountain Community School Principal Denise Pesce. Having contemplated the idea of having a school dog for some time, Pesce was at the pet store to buy food for the Hendersonville school's rabbits when she noticed the adoption event taking place.</p><p>“I explained to the (adoption) director what we were thinking in terms of a school dog and asked her to let me know if she thought it was a bad idea,” Pesce recalled. “She thought it was a great idea and turned around and pointed to JoJo and said, 'And here's your dog!'”</p><p>With small brown eyes that begged for the love of a human, JoJo stole Pesce's heart. </p><p>“We got him the day he was going to be put down,” she added.</p><p>Back at Mountain Community, first- and second-grade teacher assistant Deanna Hill volunteered to be JoJo's permanent owner, taking him home at night and on weekends. Third-grade teacher Kristie Pace volunteered to be JoJo's home room teacher.</p><p>The kids immediately took to JoJo, taking him out for walks, recess, lunch and snack.</p><p>“He really goes everywhere with us, even on field trips if they're outside,” Pace said. “We went to a strawberry farm in Etowah recently and he went with us and he was so good. He's always so good.”</p><p>In a few weeks, JoJo will travel with his fellow third-graders to the Bullington Center. If the class goes on an indoor field trip, JoJo stays with the fourth-grade class, since the kids know him from the previous year. He has his picture taken for the yearbook “just like the other kids,” Pace said, and he's also in the class picture.</p><p>“The other day we were pulling weeds in the garden and there was JoJo, pulling weeds with us,” she said. “His face was all dirty. He likes to help.”</p><p>JoJo helps in many ways, Pace said.</p><p>“It's amazing. Certain kids really take to him,” she said. “If it gets really loud in the classroom, he will get excited and (student) Lauren Burns, who is such a calm and gentle spirit, would sit next to JoJo and calm him down. He just loves her.”</p><p>“The kids give him water and food and even a bath out on the grass with the hose,” she added. “He didn't like it, but he endured it. It's a good lesson for the kids. A lot of these kids can't or don't have a pet at home and here they can learn how to take care of a pet in a safe way.”</p><p>Do the kids love caring for JoJo? “I like that he's here because I always like dogs,” said third -rader Julianna Samotis. “They keep me company. I feel a lot more like me when I'm around a dog. But he barks a lot. It's usually because he's hungry or we are getting loud in the classroom.”</p><p>Fourth-grader Isabel Blackford recalled with a laugh one day last year when JoJo stole a teacher's hash brown from her breakfast bag. Pace smiled as she remembered the day. “JoJo was running around with the empty wrapper and we were all laughing.”</p><p>Laughter seems to be a constant refrain in the life of JoJo these days, as he steps from the classroom to join the kids at snack break, wagging his tail and pulling at his leash.</p><p>Pace's third-grade student Kira Dillin put it this way: “He teaches me how to be funny because he does funny stuff. He makes me feel happy. I like him because he's nice to have around. On picture day he was grumbling, so our teacher had to give him treats.”</p><p>Pace said she gets the feeling JoJo wasn't given treats before he was adopted. </p><p>“We had to go through a lot of treats to find one he liked. It was like he had to learn that it was a treat and that it was OK to eat it,” she said. </p><p>Fourth-grader Marie Danos mentioned how JoJo likes to lick yogurt containers. “He will eat anything he can find on the ground, like pencils and paper.” Not a bad way to teach kids the value of picking up their stuff.</p><p>Third-grader Abbie Sherman said she likes “being in the classroom with him because he reminds me of my dog. I would like Miss Pace to let me walk him!”</p><p>Mountain Community is “a menagerie” of animals, Pace said, ticking off three rabbits, a turtle, a lizard, snakes, hissing cockroaches and fish. </p><p>“I like it that JoJo lets us pet him and I like his howl,” said third-grader Jacob Smith. “When he barks sometimes he howls afterwards.”</p><p>Fellow third-grader Faith Baker added that JoJo “is cute and he doesn't bite. Other dogs just sit around, but not JoJo. He runs around and sometimes we read to him.”</p><p>JoJo is in third grade but can he read?</p><p>“Noooo!” Baker said, astonished at the question. “He's just a pup! He's a rescue dog, you know. He makes me feel like we need to take good care of him.”</p><p>“We saved him but he saves us every day,” Pace added. “He makes us happy.”</p><p>Reach Tanker at 828-694-7871 or nancy.tanker@blueridgenow.com.</p>